The premiere for the latest chapter in the Twilight saga, New Moon, was completely insane -- as you well know if you follow me and AMC News on Twitter.
What happens in New Moon? What is it like being at the center of the Twilight storm? And perhaps most importantly, what does it mean for fans and future movies that author Stephenie Meyer says she's "burnt out" on vampires? Watch my Opening Night report for answers from the cast.
Posted by Jacob Soboroff
November 19, 2009 12:01am
Filed under: Opening Night, Video
Tags: anna kendrick, chris weitz, jamie campbell bower, justin chon, kristen stewart, new moon, robert pattinson, taylor lautner, twilight
At last week's premiere of 2012 (pronounced "two thousand twelve" for anyone wondering), I heard the movie's executive producer Mark Gordon say -- and I'm paraphrasing -- that this movie could be one of the biggest films in scope ever made. Granted, 2012 is built around the Mayan myth of the apocalyptic destruction of the earth, but still, that's a quite a statement coming from a guy who previously teamed up with director Roland Emmerich for The Day After Tomorrow, The Patriot and 10,000 BC.
According to John Cusack, the script called for the demolition of Rome and Paris, just to name a few places. I wondered if fellow cast member Danny Glover and director Emmerich agreed that this movie would be bigger than any we've seen before. I especially wanted Emmerich's opinion, since he told AMC's SciFi Scanner this film will be his last disaster movie and perhaps he wanted to go out with a bang.
Watch our AMC News Opening Night report to find out what Emmerich and Glover think. And to interact with me live at future movie premieres, film festivals and awards shows, follow AMC News on Twitter.
Posted by Jacob Soboroff
November 12, 2009 12:00am
Filed under: Opening Night, Video
Tags: 2012, amanda peet, danny glover, john cusack, roland emmerich
Last week I was in New York to catch up with the cast of the new AMC series The Prisoner, a modern-day take on the 60's cult-classic TV show which starred Patrick McGoohan. This time around, it's Jim Caviezel as Six, the prisoner, and Sir Ian McKellen as Two, the man who runs The Village where the story takes place.
There are so many layers and mysteries to the story that McKellen had a hard time breaking it down for me without giving too much away. In fairness, I was probably too curious after having watched the first episode. McKellen said his friends had the same reaction after the premiere screening in New York last Tuesday.
McKellen insists that the simple questions the story raises are ultimately answered in the six-hour miniseries. "What is this place, who is running it, and why?" he asked. "In answering those questions, the story is about an extreme version about what it's like today."
For our AMC News report on The Prisoner, watch the video. And for more on The Prisoner, tune in Nov. 15 at 8PM | 7C and follow along with me and AMC News on Twitter.
Posted by Jacob Soboroff
November 9, 2009 1:10pm
Filed under: Opening Night, Video
Tags: bill gallagher, ian mckellen, jamie campbell bower, jim caviezel, nick hurran, ruth wilson, the prisoner
At the premiere of The Box in New York Wednesday night, as you may have noticed if you follow AMC News on Twitter, we had some laughs. The movie is a thriller from Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly, and it centers around this question: Would you let a stranger die in exchange for a million dollars? That moral dilemma is at the center of this film, and it was a question many on the red carpet were talking about.
The Box is an adaptation of the 1970 short story "Button, Button" by author Richard Matheson (I Am Legend) that first appeared in Playboy magazine. Did stars Cameron Diaz, James Marsden or the other cast members ever think they'd appear in a movie that had its roots in a nudie magazine? Watch my Opening Night Report to find out.
Posted by Jacob Soboroff
November 6, 2009 10:20am
Filed under: Opening Night, Video
Tags: cameron diaz, celia weston, holmes osborne, james marsden, richard kelly, the box
This week -- as you may already know if you follow AMC News on Twitter -- I was in New York to sit down with the stars of Amelia, Hilary Swank, Richard Gere and Ewan McGregor, and to attend the premiere. The movie, directed by Mira Nair, shows you another side of world famous aviator Amelia Earhart, not just the story of her going down in the Pacific while she was trying to complete the first around-the-world flight by a woman. As the movie shows us, Earhart was a celebrity with a keen intellect and a complex love life. Watch my Opening Night report for all that, plus, stay tuned for the very end of the video to see what happens when the FDNY, New York's Bravest, interrupt my interview with McGregor.
Posted by Jacob Soboroff
October 22, 2009 1:20pm
Filed under: Opening Night, Video
Tags: amelia, ewan mcgregor, hilary swank, richard gere
In adapting Maurice Sendak's children's book Where the Wild Things Are to the big screen, director Spike Jonze tried to capture the feeling -- for adults and kids both -- of being nine years old. Furry creatures that had never before spoken a word were given dialogue, and brought to life by Jim Henson's Creature Shop and the actors Catherine O'Hara, Lauren Ambrose and Forest Whitaker. I sat down with them -- as well as Catherine Keener and star Max Records -- in Los Angeles to talk about how Jonze approached the movie and more.
At the premiere this week in New York, the film's executive producer Tom Hanks and I talked about the popularity of the movie and the trouble I had getting a Max Halloween costume. According to Keener, even President Obama has read the book, and she tells us in the video how she knows. Take a look.
To following along with me AMC News live for photos and updates every red carpet premiere, check out AMC News on Twitter.
Posted by Jacob Soboroff
October 15, 2009 3:20pm
Filed under: Opening Night, Video
Tags: catherine keener, catherine o'hara, forest whitaker, lauren ambrose, max records, tom hanks, where the wild things are
At the premiere this week of Couples Retreat, Vince Vaughn told me the film -- which is the first he's taken a writing credit on -- came in part from his own experiences, where he found "the funny is an overcommitment to the absurd" in relationships and marriage counseling. Jon Favreau, who wrote the first draft of the movie before starting work on Iron Man 2, said Vaughn wasn't afraid to suggest something different while shooting, something Kristen Bell seemed to enjoy. Watch the video for our conversations and my report:
Posted by Jacob Soboroff
October 8, 2009 7:01am
Filed under: Opening Night, Video
Tags: couples retreat, jean reno, jon favreau, kristen bell, vince vaughn
As you might know if you followed my AMC NEWS live Emmy tweeting, we were reporting Sunday night not just from the Nokia Theater, but also later in the evening exclusively from the AMC Emmy Awards after-party at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. AMC picked up five Emmy Awards, including two repeats: Best Actor for Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston, and Best Drama for Mad Men.
I spoke with Mad Men's Christina Hendricks, Rich Sommer, Michael Gladis, Aaron Staton and Robert Morse about what it was like to be up on stage accepting the Academy's top honors, and how it feels for Mad Men to win the best writing and hairstyling statues.
What I really wanted to know, however, was what show creator Matthew Weiner meant when he said during the post-Emmy news conference that Mad Men is about to "explode" this season.
"It gets pretty interesting. It's pretty nuts," explained Sommer, who plays Harry Crane on the show. "The rest of this season is stuff that I never, ever thought would happen."
Watch the video below for all of the details:
Check out the AMC NEWS Emmy-night gallery for photos from the event.
Posted by Jacob Soboroff
September 22, 2009 11:06am
Filed under: Video
Tags: aaron staton, christina hendricks, emmys, mad men, michael gladis, rich sommer, robert morse
Perhaps you've heard that The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, the latest cinematic brainteaser from director Terry Gilliam, is the final work of the late actor Heath Ledger. Gilliam brought in heavies Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell to replace Ledger, adding a meta layer to an already trippy filmgoing experience. So what is Parnassus about? Honestly, based on the trailer, we're not exactly sure. A thousand years ago, Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) made a deal with the devil (Tom Waits!) which leads to all kinds of heavy, overwrought makeup, crazy special effects and a Mini-Me cameo. Ledger (and Depp and Farrell) plays a mysterious stranger in a traveling theater company (we think) who must save a young girl from the clutches of Parnassus and the Devil. At the very least, the trailer lets Gilliam show off his visual prowess in a movie reminiscent of his underrated comedy, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. And, if nothing else, the Ledger factor should draw in the curious... even if they'll leave scratching their heads.
Posted by Nick Nadel
September 21, 2009 3:30pm
Filed under: Trailers, Video
Tags: the imaginarium of doctor parnassus
Love Happens might be a romantic comedy -- or a romantic drama -- depending on who you ask.
At the premiere in Westwood this week, which we covered live via AMC NEWS on Twitter, some of the stars leaned one way, while others -- including director Brandon Camp -- felt differently. This is a film that comes from a personal place of loss for Camp, and a story that star Jennifer Aniston (but not co-star Aaron Eckhart) said was tough to wrap one's head around. Take a look at this week's Opening Night to find out why.
Posted by Jacob Soboroff
September 17, 2009 12:20pm
Filed under: Opening Night, Video
Tags: aaron eckhart, brandon camp, dan fogler, jennifer aniston, love happens